Saturday, October 07, 2006

It has been a while since I last baked bread for my family so today I told myself I have to bake some for their breakfast tomorrow. In fact, some of the bread didn't make it to breakfast tomorrow. They went into the stomach of my two boys as teabreak. LOL

For those of you who would like to try this out. Here is the recipe taken from Alex Goh's book.

1. Mix (A) till well blended. Add (B) to form a dough. Add in (C) and knead until dough is elastic and smooth.2. Gather dough to form a ball and cover dough with cling wrap and let it rest for abt 50-60 mins or double in size. 3. Divide dough into portions of 60 gm each. Shape into balls and leave it to rest for abt 10 mins. Roll out dough and wrap with desired fillings. Shape as required and let it proof on lined or greased baking tray for another 50-60 mins or until dough is double in size.4. Apply egg wash (1 beaten egg) on dough and sprinkle some shredded cheese on it. Bake dough at 180-190ºC for abt 12 mins.

100 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Lee Lee, Wow your bread look so delicious leh...no nid to buy fm Breadtalk already. They are so expensive, i used to spend like $40 a week on just the floss buns!! Stupid me, bad for health and the 'pocket' heeheehee.Have a nice day, ta

Try making them on your own. It's cheap, it's nice, it's worth the effort. You probably will need only to pay a quarter of what you pay at Breadtalk to get all this. If you are interested in the recipe I can post it up for you.

Lee Lee, You're so kind to offer me the recipe, tku v much. I've never made bread b4 but would like to try sometimes. I have many recipe books which are for collection/reading only. U can email me the recipes at gohkerie@aol.com if it's not a problem on your part. TIA and once again many thks!!

Well, this is the first time I read your blog. Great job.... I guess I just feel in love with the pictures of the home made bread that you make. If you don't mind, can you send the recipe to me also at shirley_tjang@hotmail.com. Thx a bunchie.... well my stomach is growling now... with all those great food picturess.. ^^

woah very impressive. i thought i was looking at breads from the bakery! sorry one stupid question since i have never bake before. wat you use for baking the bread? a microwave oven or a convention oven? i heard they serve different purpose?

You can apply some oil on the clingwrap then cover it over the dough for it to proof. This will avoid the proven dough sticking to your clingwrap.

As for the shaping of the bread, for the round one with tuna filling and bonito flakes on top, what you do is after measuring out individual dough of about 50 gm or 60 gm. Shape it round, apply some water over dough and roll it in sesame. Leave it on lined baking tray and let if proof double the size. Use the handle of a rolling pin and poke a hole in the center of the proven dough to get an indentation for you to add fillings.

For the sausage buns, the simplest will be to roll 50 gm of dough into a long rope. Use this rope to twirl round the sausage.

Thanks for sharing the recipe and method for your beautiful breads. I am currently looking for a recipe for butter buns. It's basically a sweet bread bun with butter filling - sweet, and a bit of a sandy texture. I was wondering if you have ever heard of a recipe for it? If you have, I would love to try it out. I'm a a Malaysian studying in USA and it's so hard to find Chinese-style bakeries here.

hi! whao! I can't wait to try making those bread! can I ask, whether letting the dough proof means to cover it with clingwrap and let it increase in size? So does that mean I have to cover it with clingwrap the second round of proofing after I shape the dough into desired shape?

Yes, the first proofing you can oil a piece of clingwrap and cover the dough and let it proof to double the size. After shaping, it is advisable to cover again to proof the second time. This is to avoid the bread from forming a layer of 'skin' after baking. The surface of the dough will become dry if it is not covered especially if the room has draft.

I really vy impress with your hard work, the results are so professional! Tried baking the bread last weekend, however, the bread turned out dry in texture. Is it necessary to knead the dough till smooth and how long does it take to get this result? Mine doesnt look smoothe. Do you knead again after the ten minutes proving?

Thanks for sharing and hope to hear from you soon. Will try again for some improvement.

I suspect you did not knead enough. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic. To do a test to see if the dough is elastic, take a small piece of dough and flour the dough and your fingers. Slowly in a circular motion, stretch the dough to see it is elastic enough. It it is not, the dough will break easily as it cannot be stretch too much.

There is no need to knead again after the 10 mins proving. If you are using machine to do the kneading, it will most probably take about 10 mins or more to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Hi Lee Lee,I followed Alex Goh's recipe for the 1st time and it was a total flop. The buns came out hard. Then I chanced upon your blog and with your explanation, I did a second time and it turned out great. I would have given up on the recipe if I did not read your blog. However, your buns with the cut up sausages, I cannot get them like yours. Mine turned out like a mini pizzaz when the dough puffed up. Can you explain how you do that? You have certainly given me motivation. Thanks a lot.

Hi lilac, I modify the recipe according to my own understanding as some cookbooks doesn't give you very specific instructions. Or rather, I will try to come up with shortcuts or make it easier for myself.

For the sausage bread. What you need to do is flatten a piece of dough enough to cover a sausage. Cut through the sausage but not the dough. Flip the dough with sausage one to the left one to the right until you come to the end of it. LOL, I think it is difficult to understand. You need to see to understand. If I hv time, I may do a step-by-step pix to show you.

Hi Lee Lee,Thank you so much for your explanation. I think I briefly know what you mean. After cutting thru, flip the dough so that the sausage is facing up, is it right?Ok, I'll try again and if I get it right, I'll send you a picture....ermmm...to where?

wow...it looks gorgeous!!im going to do it this weekend, shall tell you the result...btw, can i actually use normal butter instead of unsalted butter?and from your images, there are some herbs on top of those cheese, what are those?many thanks!

Hi Lee LeeTried making the buns yesterday but was unsuccessful. Ended with a dense/heavy texture. I used Defiance's Bakers Flour (thot it was bread flour), substituted water with milk (as I don't have coffeemate or milk powder) & it didn't rise. Can you shed some light? Wld appreciate any advise.

Your substitution is ok. I suspect if it does not rise, it may be the yeast fault. Do a yeast test to see if your yeast can still be use. In a cup of room temperature water, add in 1 tsp of yeast. Wait for a few minutes to see if it foams. If it does the yeast is still good. If not the yeast is dead and it cannot be used.

I never realised that there are so many innovative and talented working women like yourselves who loves to cook & bake. That of coz means that we enjoy good food and especially homemade freshness as well.

Hi there,This is someone who like to bake but has no experience.is there someway you can contact me on my email, frenchcap1975@aol.comI have alot of questions,but your recipes on this page has been a great help. I am also curious how you did those buns with the sausage cut in them.ThanksEd

I like Mr Alex Goh's book. The recipes in his book is reliable. And I love baking bread as well. Tried quite a number of recipes in there and all came out yummilicious! Your house must be smelling like a bakery when you were baking these lovely breads huh?

Hi,I have tried your recipe, the bread turned out great. Thank you for sharing the recipe :) However, I have a question..the bread I made turned out yellowish in colour. Do you think it has to do with the flour? Can u tell me what brand you used for the flour?

I want to try your sweetbun recipe and have a simple question to ask. Is the dough very sticky to handle? I have tried another recipe and the bread comes out fine but its just too sticky to knead and i have a tough time battling with the sticky dough for at leats 1/2 hr as i have no breadmaker. My kids love this sausage bun and i want to bake them often. Thanks

yum yummy! i've tried out tis recipe and... turn out yum.. yumm!TQ for the recipe! By the way can i substitue the bread flour with wholemeal flour to bake wholemeal bun? and wat's the measurement? is it the all the other ingredient remain the same?

after successful in substitute the bread flour with wholemeal flour, can i use the topping for mexican bun? and wat's the different of combination of bread flour and plain flour for some bread recipe and some only use bread flour?

Hi Hug Bear , Everything here looks amazing , i would like to know how to make your sausage bun plz as i reckon my kids will love them. If you like you can send the recipe to my email..theresasimpson77@hotmail.com .

Let's masak, here are my answers:(1) I used my Kitchenaid mixer to knead the dough.(2) If you want to use milk instead of milk powder, just replace the water with milk.(3) If you use salted butter, you may have to reduce the amount of salt asked for in this recipe.(4) Yes, you can let it proof in the fridge. Next day just take it out of fridge and let it thaw out for a while and proof as per normal and then bake.

Thanks for your reply, HugBear. So I bought high grade flour today as couldn't find bread flour here and was told the same type of flour. Let you know once I try it.

I like your blog very much and found lots of food in our liking. They look so yummy. Will try them one by one but forsee in very slow pace as I need time to digest your recipe first. Really admire you, a working mum and a good chef.

Managed to make some sausage and tuna bun today. Quite satisfied on my first attempt although they don't looked quite nice due to burnt cheese on top. One question is it normal that buns turn hard after few hours and I had to heat it up to make it soft ? will it due to the flour I used ?

Hi Lee Lee, I tried this recipe and unfortunately the bread turned out to be very densed, like man tou kind of texture. Can I reduce the flour and also the yeast as the final product has a strong smell of yeast?

Hi YT, if you like you can reduce the amount as you deem fit. The bread is dense may be due to insufficient kneading and proofing time. When I make this bread, I do not have problem with the yeast smell. Sometimes, if I find the dough too wet, I will still add additional flour into it.

Hi lee lee,I love your blog..Hve tried alex goh's bread recipes too, and they flopped.. I have 4 kids and they love sausage buns..Tks for sharing your recipes..Was wondering if you could do a step by step and put it in you-tube;)

i chanced upon your blog and am amazed at how much you have accomplished despite having to work and taking care of 2 kids.

I just finish baking the bread with your recipe and the results were fantastic!!! i had tried many recipes before and they failed on me terribly. the only problem i had was handling the sticky dough. :P

I was stubborn in my previous try not to use bread flour but gave in for your recipe and made great success. Do you know why the normal plain flour can't work?

Im very disapointed and upset as this is my second time to make bread. Pls enlighten my problem,My dough don't seen to be double after 1 hour proof. My dought is elastic and smooth.Where gone wrong??I still bake it but turn out a flat bread.How long to knead? I knead it using electric mixer abt 45mins.

Hi Claris, plain flour is medium gluten flour whereas bread flour is high gluten. It is usually advisable to use bread flour to make bread for the high gluten in it. The reason this recipe has both flour is because the plain flour can make this bread softer.

Hi Baking MumI've tried your bread recipe twice, turned out nice. However, there's just one problem: after putting in the fillings for the bread, no matter how hard I tried to cover them up - the bread always 'open' up and the fillings could be seen during baking. Is there any way that the bread will not 'open'up? Yours are so nicely covered. Please advise. Thanks very much!RegardsWO

Sorry to ask a silly question, butI read that you can prepare the dough the night before and bake the next day. I was wondering when do i leave it in the fridge, during the 1st proof or the 2nd proof after shaping?

Hi Sharon, keep the dough after 1st proofing and after shaping it into individual round balls. The next day take it out to thaw and shape again and add other ingredients and proof again and then bake it.

Have never attempted to bake bread before. Would like to try your recipe, but in reduced portions, just in case it doesn't turn out well. Will the final product still be ok if I reduce all the ingredients by half? Thanks.

would like to know do i need to mix warm water with yeast and let it sit till formed before adding all ingredients(A) or just mix all (A) will do? And do I need to grease the tray with butter before putting ready dough to bake?

Hi Miky, no need to mix with warm water as the instant yeast can be dissolved and activated very fast so you can mix everything together. If you are using non-stick parchment paper then no need to grease but if you are using normal baking paper or no paper at all, remember to grease your tray and sprinkle some flour over it and knock out the flour before placing the bread to proof and bake to prevent sticking.

its my 2nd time making the bread, but it turned out i did not knead long enuff again!! =( i mixed using the electric mixer for at least 45min i think, but it din pass the stretch test! =( may i noe wat went wrong??? cox i read tt u only need ard 10 min or so using a mixer.... as a result, my bread its hard... =(

Hi baking mum, sorry its mi again. i managed to find this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMBBGib2sw8&feature=related , but as i watched, i realised my dough did not turn out to be smooth & elastic like in the video n in ur instructions.after adding the butter, my dough seem to be in the stage when its rough and easily torn (like after adding the butter in the video) but after all the butter is incorporated, the texture is the same rough look, but it has come to formed into a dough and sticks to the dough hook, i tried scrapping it off, but to no avail, my texture nv becomes smooth & elastic.

Can I ask after resting for 60 min is the dough still very sticky? then how do I roll out to add fillings? I tried to add some flour when working the dough but that makes the second proof not rise the same amount and the final product quite dry,please helpFelicia

Felicia, the dough is still a little sticky but it should be ok to handle. Dust your weighing scale with a little flour before you start to weigh the dough. If you find it too sticky, you can dust the tabletop with flour but not too much.

I have made the recipe for the third time but still not like your photo. I have 2 questions1) I used white sugar instead of castor sugar does it affect it not rising?2) I brush beaten egg but still does not get the shine and brown colour like yours did u add anything else?Felicia

Thank you so much for the recipe. I pulled a batch out of the oven about 20 minutes ago and I've already tried one....So good! I love breadtalk when I'm in Indonesia but as yet we have none in Australia so your recipe is fantastic:)

Your bread looks very nice and inspiring... Do you have some quick guide on those shapes that you use? I am quite new to bread, but am tempted to try after seeing your blog so appreciate if there is some instructions on how to shape the bread.

The greenie shreds that you put on your bread, what are those and where can I get them?

I have tried your recipe just few hours ago and the result is yummyliciously astounding...had tried several recipes but this sure is the best so far...bringing breadtalk to our kitchens is a cleverish idea...

It's strange that some ppl had trouble with this recipe! I used my bread machine to do the kneading and proofing.Had no problem working with the dough too.The result is just fantastic! It's my 5th attempt in a month.Thanks!